Love and LossSampel

#The Journey of Grief “No! No! No!” My voice reverberated off the sterile white walls of the hospital lobby while my body was frozen. This couldn’t be happening...again. We found ourselves in a place of loss, and the grief struck like a lightning bolt. Sudden. Fierce. Paralyzing. Where were you when you were hit with grief? When we faced recurrent miscarriage, we found ourselves vacillating from emotion to emotion, sometimes strong, but often weary and weakened by the sorrow of tears, uncertainty, and emptiness. What have you faced during your journey? A verse that we related to says, “I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease” (Lamentations 3:20-22). Your grief journey is unique to you, and we pray that you accept yourself as you grieve. We look to God's Word to gain insight about grief. In Scripture we see that God mourned the disobedience of His people (Judges 10:16), Hannah grieved being unable to have a child (1 Samuel 1:16), and Rebecca and Isaac grieved when their son married a woman from an outside clan (Genesis 26:35) (Elwell & Beitzel, 1988). Jesus even grieved the death of Lazarus, though He knew he would bring him back to life (John 11:33-35). If our Lord grieves, it's ok for us to grieve as well. As you reflect upon your journey of grief, look to Scripture. What grief experiences can you relate to? What can you learn from the strengths (and weaknesses) of those who have gone before you? Let's pray. God, I need Your comfort and strength. I am in pain, but I lean on You and worship You. Thank You for filling the pages of Scripture with stories that can teach me how to live a life that is pleasing to You, especially when I face difficult seasons. Open my eyes so I can learn from You. Amen.